Conventionally, a printing device for creating an adhesive label with a paper liner is known which performs printing through a thermal head on a thermo-sensitive tape formed of a rolled thermal paper cut into a tape shape with a paper liner. When the paper liner is peeled after the printing, the adhesive label can be pasted.
Moreover, for example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. H02-223461 discloses a tape printing device which performs reverse printing on a transparent tape, bonds a bonding surface of a double-sided tape on the printed surface to create a printed tape (printed label) having the printed letters and the like protected. When the paper liner on the other bonding surface is peeled, such a printed label can be utilized as an adhesive label.
However, the paper liner that eventually becomes a waste material and a trash at a user's end after the tape is used is useless, and a manual work of peeling the paper liner is necessary, and thus there is a leeway for improving the usability.
Conversely, for example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. H06-312545 discloses a tape printing device for a liner-less tape which forms a sticking layer on one surface of a tape base material, forms a surface of a platen roller as a peeling surface that is likely to be peeled against the sticking layer of a print tape, performs printing on the opposite surface to the sticking layer of the tape base material to create a print tape, thereby excluding the use of a paper liner (liner) that eventually becomes a waste material.
The rolled tape used for the tape printing device disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. H06-312545 needs to satisfy specifications that an adhesive is applied to the whole rear surface of a tape, a silicon layer mainly containing silicon is provided on the thermo-sensitive front surface, and such a tape is rolled up without a paper liner.
However, there are several requests for a print tape where no adhesive is necessary at all and the adhesive should be partially applied to the print tape since the print tape is to be used as a sticky note. Hence, the print tape having the adhesive layer on the whole rear surface of the print tape is not suitable for users who desire the above-explained applications.
Hence, Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. 2011-235595 discloses a method for creating a sticking label that is capable of cutting down the use of the adhesive by allowing a user to eliminate the adhesive in accordance with the printing purpose without a liner. That is, this patent publication discloses the use of an adhesive applying mechanism that applies an adhesive to a part of a recording medium passing through a cut position.
According to the method for creating a sticking label disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. 2011-235595, however, it is suggested that the adhesive applying mechanism may be placed in a printer, but the adhesive applying mechanism basically has an adhesive transferring unit 1B with a depression mechanism 17 which is provided at the ejection port located at the downstream side of the cutter 4 of the printer 1A.
Hence, downsizing and practical structure of the main body of the printer have not been thoroughly studied, thus, there is still room for improvement. Moreover, an example is merely disclosed in which the adhesive to the recording medium is applied by repeating a depressed condition and a non-depressed condition alternately. Hence, there is no disclosure for an adhesive application control meeting various applications such that the adhesive should be partially applied like the above-explained sticky note.